Mergers & Acquisitions in November 2015
One of the more notable deals of the month was Nikkei Inc’s £844m acquisition of the Financial Times Group Ltd, from Pearson. The deal brings to an end Pearson’s 58 year ownership of the Financial Times, with Nikkei looking to develop their international presence by moving into the English language market.
The agreement brings the FT into the same stable as The Nikkei, Japans biggest selling business newspaper with 3.12m subscribers.
Tsuneo Kita, chairman and group CEO of Nikkei, said: “Together, we will strive to contribute to the development of the global economy.”
Pearson’s chief executive John Fallon was quoted as saying “The best way to ensure the FT’s journalistic and commercial success is for it to be part of a global, digital news company.”
The deal covers the FT newspaper, FT.com, and titles such as The Banker and Investors Chronicle, but does not include the FT Group’s London headquarters.
In other news, AB-InBev have reached an agreement on the acquisition of the entire share capital of SABMiller plc. The acquisition will be implemented by the formation of a Belgian Newco. SABMilller is a multinational beer and soft drinks company with brands including Fosters, Grolsch and Peroni.